The Pearl and the Onyx
by UnbalancedTruth
Summary: Get on, fasten your seat belt and hold on tight!
1. New Begginings

"Hey Alexa, have you seen Taya lately?"  
"No Toby, I haven't. But I think she is with my little brother."

"Blake?Well, if you see her, tell her I'm looking for her." Toby said.  
"Fine. I'll tell her. You better get outta' here. If Kassie catches you in here, your toast." Alexa said warningly  
"Yeah. See ya."  
"Later."

"Yo Lance, you seen Taya around?"  
"Uh...last time I saw her I think she was with Blake."  
"Do you know where they are?"  
"Come to think of it, I think they went to Jim's."  
"Oh. Thanks. See you later."  
"Hey! You finally gonna' ask her?"  
"Yeah. I'm gonna try anyway."  
"Don't worry man. She'll say yes for sure. Good luck!"  
"Thanks. Gotta go."  
"Later." said Lance watching Toby leave the room in a hurry.

Toby walked down the streets of Furikiwa, Japan. Toby and his friends attended Furikiwa High. They all lived in the dormitory with the exception of Blake and Alexa.  
"I still donâ€™t get why itâ€™s called Jims Corner Store." Toby said to himself.  
Toby opened the door of Jim's corner store to find Taya sitting with Blake at the counter deep in conversation.

"Hi Toby, Can I get you anything?"  
"No thanks Mr. Hibachi." Toby said, waving to the old man.  
"So, Lance finally found you? I told him to pass a message along." said Taya, smiling at Toby. She had been hoping he would come here.  
"Yeah, so what are you two up too?" Toby asked.  
"Not much." replied Blake, sucking down the rest of his milkshake noisily.  
Toby joined them up on the counter, seating himself between Taya and Blake.  
"Ugh. I'm so bored! Friday night and Iâ€™ve got nothing to do. So what about you guys? What are you up to tonight?"  
"Hmmm, just hangin out I guess. I should probably study for my chemistry test." said Blake.  
"Can't you do that on Sunday?" asked Toby.  
"Well I'll study on Saturday too. Need to be prepared."  
"You worry to much Blake." Taya said, also finishing her shake.  
"What about you Taya? What are you doing?" asked Toby switching his gaze over to Taya.

"Nothing really." she said airily.  
"Well then I was thinking' maybe we could, you know hang out or something. I don't know...uh huh. Well, never mind. I'd better go. I got some stuff to...â€  
"Meet me outside the girls dorm rooms at eight. Weâ€™ll find something to do." Taya said quickly as though she had been planning to say this.  
"Uh sure, okay. So see you at seven."  
"You mean eight right?"  
"Oh, yeah, eight."

To add further embarrassment to Toby's pathetic attempt to ask Taya out, Toby turned right around and ran straight into the door.  
Toby swore under his breath.  
"Toby, are you okay?"  
"Uh, yeah, I'm fine. See ya later." and with this he ran out of Jim's and around the corner until he was out of sight. Well, it was finally happening, he was going out with Taya! Toby had been waiting for this day for years. He had never had the courage to ask her out. Shyness was most unlike Toby, but when it came to Taya things were different. However, she more asked him out. But he initiated the conversation so technically he asked her out. Toby walked back to campus, his face more red than it was talking to Taya, mainly because he had run straight into a door.


	2. Wierd Happenings

"No! I can't wear that. Ugh, I wish I had some decent looking clothes!"  
"So. You still diggin' through that closet? You know, you could just wear what your wearing now."  
"Well...I don't know. I guess your right. These look okay. But I want to look good for the date."  
Toby was just wearing a pair of jeans and a Fireballs t-shirt. The Fireballs were his favorite fencing team. Overall he looked pretty good. Toby examined himself in the mirror. A tall, lean, 16-year-old boy with shocking blue eyes and short, spiky brown hair looked back at him.  
"Oh come on. Taya won't care what youâ€™re wearing. You two have known each other for years."  
"Yeah. But what if she thinks this whole thing is just us as friends?"  
"Don't worry about it. Taya knows enough about dating to know when itâ€™s just hanging out or if itâ€™s a date."  
"Yeah. Well, I better go. Wish me luck."  
"If you two come back here, just donâ€™t use my bed."

"You make me sick sometimes, you know that?"  
"I'm just kidding! Chill out!"  
"See you later!"  
"Break a leg Romeo."

The clock soon struck eight and Toby walked out of the dormitory. He walked across the campus towards the girls rooms.

Everything was rather quiet for a Friday night. Kids weren't roaming around the campus talking, laughing, and joking. Even the wind seemed to have stopped. The silence was somewhat unsettling. Toby was walking when he stopped for a moment; he felt a strange pulsing in the air, as though the beating of his heart had just been magnified ten times over. Toby ignored it. There he stood by the door. He could here Taya's foot steps coming closer. He took a deep breath when suddenly he sensed something behind him. He turned around to find a hole, like a rip in the air. It was a swirling mass of colors. It was a hole, floating in mid-air.

"Hey! What the...what the heck is going on here? What is this thing? WHOAAAAA! Toby was sucked into the hole, taking him to who-knows-where. Taya had opened the door barely a second after the portal had vanished. Then, in the time of nearly five seconds it reopened, sucked Taya in too and disappeared.

"YEAH! I finally beat it! I beat Death Rain Six!" Blake was jumping up and down from excitement.  
Blake's game controller dropped to the floor with a soft thud.

"So how did you do on that science test today?" Alexa asked Lance. They were both sitting in their rooms, talking on their cell phone. Alexa was watching TV and Lance, he was reading a book. Lance wasn't one to talk on a cell phone. He only did because all his friends had one, even though they weren't allowed on campus.  
"I have no idea. I probably bombed it. I didn't study at all last night."  
"Yeah, me too. I can't stand that teacher. He is so boring. I don't know how he expects us to learn anything the way he teaches." Alexa complained.  
"Do you do anything but complain? Mr. Togashi isn't that boring. You just would just rather be doing something else." Lance retorted.

"What do you think Toby and Taya are doing right now? Taya always has all the fun." Alexa said sighing to herself.  
"You need to loosen up. Youâ€™re always so uptight about everything. If you do maybe someone would ask you out. Or maybe you should ask someone out." said Lance, turning the page of his book.  
"I am not uptight!"  
"You see what I mean?" Lance said.  
"Okay, maybe a little." Alexa replied in defeat.

Alexa began to get static on her cell.  
"Lance? What's up? Are you there?"  
"Yeah. Something is going on. I'm gettin outta here. This is weird." Lance dropped the phone and began to run but didn't get far before he was sucked in.  
"Lance? Whatâ€™s that sound? It sounds like static. Is it the phone?  
"Lance whatâ€™s wro..."  
It opened just at the end of the bed, like a monster opening its huge jaws. Alexa was being sucked into the hole and there was nothing she could do but stare in horror at what was happening. She was paralyzed with fear.  
"Lance! Lance, HELP ME! NOOOOO!"  
And with that both portals closed.


	3. Strange Requests

"Wha...where am I? What happened? Uh man, I got a head-ache." Toby stood up rubbing his head. He looked at his surroundings. Toby could tell that he wasn't in Furikiwa anymore. He was standing in a clearing in the middle of a green forest. He could here nothing but his own heavy breathing and the chirping of birds. The grass and trees were all covered in morning dew. It was so peaceful in the forest. Toby stood there, admiring the beauty of his surroundings.

A rustling in the bushes threw him out of his state of peace. Toby took up a fighting stance. He was a talented swordsman and boxer so he new well enough how to defend himself. But he had no idea what he could be up against. But for all he knew it was a squirrel. However, after seeing that weird hole anything was possible. Then, a man in a fiery red cloak walked out from behind the bush. He was the nearly a foot taller than Toby. He looked young, maybe in his 20's Toby thought. His eyes were dark and his black hair hidden under a large, red hood.

"Who...Who are you?" Toby asked the stranger in a commanding voice.  
"I am Ingham, Fire Guardian from Ornam's capital city of Lanuck." he said removing his hood. Ingham had a deep, clear voice.  
"Ornam?" Where the heck is that?"  
"That is the continent we are on now."  
"Sorry but I don't know what planet your from but I've never heard of Ornam."  
"We are on the planet Arnhem."  
"Uh...never heard of it. And how do you know all this?"  
"Because, my young friend, I live on this world."  
"Okay. So if I'm not on Earth then how did I get here?"  
"This will all be explained shortly, if you would follow me."  
"And how do you expect me to trust you?" Toby said fiercely.  
"I can take you to your friends."  
"You mean they are all here too?"  
"Yes. Besides, do you have any choice but to follow me? You are completely lost."  
"If you know my friends than tell me. What are their names?" Toby questioned, hitching a grin of triumph on his face. He was sure he wouldn't get this. But to his great surprise the man named them off one by one.  
"So you know my friends. That still doesn't mean I can trust you."  
"You think I would hurt you? I have you alone in the wild. You are unarmed and I have a blade. If I wanted to kill you I would have already done so. Please you must listen to me. I can take you to your friends but you must trust me!"  
"Alright, but I still don't trust you. So where are we going."  
"If you wish I will give you my blade for your security. Come with me." said Ingham, drawing his blade and handing it to Toby.  
There was something about Ingham's voice. Toby couldn't quite put his finger on it. It was strange, it had an air of slight carelessness, and it was almost soothing.

Toby followed Ingham through the woods, looking about him at the trees, the flowers, the animals. If he was on another planet, it was much like Earth. He recognized nearly everything. The trees were the same. There were birds, squirrels and the usual wild-life. Toby made sure to keep an eye on that sword of his. He still didn't trust this stranger, but he had no choice but to follow him.

After several minutes of walking they cleared the forest and were standing on a hill overlooking a large city. It was completely surrounded by a 2 story stone wall. There were many buildings, all of them stone grey except for a tower in the center of the city. It was dazzling white and stretched up to the clouds. It stood in front of a bright sunrise behind a cluster of mountains. The entire city looked like something out of the European Middle-Ages.  
"This is Ornam's capital city of Lanuck." said Ingham.  
"I kinda figured that. Do you think the tower might be compensating for something?" Toby said sarcastically.

Toby followed Ingham towards the gate. They passed through the gate by the two steel-armored guards. The morning light glinted off the metal armor and the tips of their spears. Toby stared at them in amazement. Ingham led Toby through the bustling streets of the city. People were shopping in the stores, salesmen strolling through the crowds, an occasional guard patrolling the streets.

As they walked through the crowds, Toby noticed people were beginning to stare at him. He supposed it was because of his clothes. The villagers whispered to each other behind their hands. Then, Toby and Ingham were hailed by a man in the crowds. He, like Ingham was wearing a hooded robe, only this one was a silvery grey.

"What kind of trash has Ingham brought into the city today?" said the man. He was slightly taller than Ingham but somewhat slimmer. He was entirely bald and had shrewd, narrow eyes and a long hooked nose.

"What is that youâ€™re calling the Savior of Ornam, Radcliff?"  
"Hah! savior of Ornam my foot. Is this the incredible warrior that is supposed to save us now? What of the other four you brought yesterday? Did they all run off scared?" said the one called Radcliff sneering evilly at them.

A crowd was beginning to gather around the three of them.

"I never understood what Mephan saw in you Radcliff. I believe he accepted you as a Guardian of Wind out of pity. Though I don't think you deserve the honor to serve as a Guardian. However I will not challenge the will of the Sages. If you think this boy is trash than you can take it up with all the Sages."

"Hah! The Sages would never allow a child wield their powers. They would never be that blind. They are far too weak for such a task as a Savior. Even they would be fools to entrust the fate of our world to mere children."

"The Sages would never go against the will of the portal. If they chose this boy then he is the true Savior."  
Beneath all his confusion, Toby felt a hot anger toward this man. A little child was he? Well, whatever this whole Savior thing was, Toby was going to take the challenge head-on, though in truth he had no idea of what he was getting himself into.

"So, little kid, am I? You seem to think youâ€™re pretty big yourself. You don't look so tough. Why don't you come a bit closer and call me that?"  
"Toby! Please! I must ask you to restrain your temper. You don't know who you are dealing with." Ingham pleaded to Toby in a whisper  
"Ah, so he has brains enough to understand when he is being insulted. He doesn't however, have the brains to know who his superiors are."

At this Ingham began to walk away towards the center of the city. Toby was reluctant to leave the argument. Nobody called Toby trash and got away with it. Toby would make sure to remember that.

Toby continued to follow Ingham through the city. He noticed they were headed in the direction of the huge tower. In the back of his mind however, Toby wondered how it was that Ingham new his name. He thought back to in the woods and he had never asked his name. Running to catch up with him he began to question Ingham.

"So, how exactly do you know my name? I never told you. I'm still not entirely convinced I'm not dreaming."  
"Your coming was foretold in our ancient records. Long ago it was foreseen by our seers that the fates of both Arnhem and Earth will be linked, and that five heroes will be delivered to us from Earth. You and your friends are those five heroes. And your friends told me about you."  
"So you and your people are asking me and my friends to save the world basically?"  
"Yes."  
"And do we have any say in this? Come on. You can't just take us away from our lives and tell us to save you all." Said Toby his temper rising. He was angry at Ingham for not telling him whatâ€™s going on. At this stupid world for taking him away from his life, he was angry at the whole injustice of it.  
Soon they came to the base of the Tower. The entrance was really nothing special. The two guards stepped in their way.  
"State your name and business." the guard said in a rough tone.  
"Ingham, Fire Guardian. I come with the Last Savior."  
"You may pass."

The guards stepped aside and opened the doors to reveal the towers inner proportions. When the doors opened a blinding white light met Toby's eyes. Everything was so elaborate. He had never seen anything so amazing in his life. Everything was white marble. He wondered how it was so bright for the only sources of light were a large chandelier and torches set into brackets.  
Ingham led Toby inside. Toby stared in awe at the paintings on the ceiling.

It showed five brave warriors on a rocky hilltop fighting off a sea of creatures. The five were all wielding the most amazing weapons he had ever seen. four of them stood in a circle around the fifth that was standing at the top of the hill. He was a handsome, fearless warrior carrying a flaming sword in his left hand, his right raised up to unleash a blast of fire upon the scathing humanoid creatures.

The creatures looked like some kind of alien out of a sci-fi movie. They had huge gaping jaws with rows of razor-sharp teeth. They were nearly 51/2ft tall and all had many limbs with shining claws.

"Those are the Five Sages in their younger days. They all wield the powers of the Elements." said Ingham, following Toby's gaze to the ceiling.  
"And what are those monsters?"  
"They are called the Scourge."  
"What are they?" Toby asked in awe.  
"They were humans once. The first ones lived in Ornam as a unique race. Then when Orgoth came he found a way to transform humans into them. Now he has an army capable of destroying our entire civilization. There is nearly 10 times the number of Scourge than there are humans. There are only a few thousand Ornamian soldiers left and still many thousands of those evil beasts.  
"Are they strong?"  
"Yes. But they are only the petty minions of Orgoth. He has more powerful creatures than they."  
"Is there any hope for us then? I mean, how are five high school kids, supposed to beat thousands of mutant monsters and whatever else he's got."  
Toby and Ingham began to climb up a spiraling staircase.  
"You will learn soon enough."  
"I'm getting tired of hearing that." Toby said indignantly.


	4. A Chance Meeting

Toby continued to follow Ingham up the staircase, passing many landings on the way. Finally they reached the top of the tower. Before them stood a wooden door.

"Inside are the Five Sages, of Fire, Water, Wind, Earth and Sky. They are the rulers of Ornam. Be respectful to them."

Ingham opened the door with a creak to reveal the roomâ€™s inner proportions. Toby continued to follow Ingham up the staircase, passing many landings on the way. Finally they reached the top of the tower. Before them stood a wooden door.

Ingham opened the door with a creak to reveal the roomâ€™s inner proportions. It was a dark chamber, five chairs stood in the middle of the room. Four of them were occupied by Toby's friends.

"Taya, Alexa, Lance, Blake! You guys are here too? Whatâ€™s going on?"  
"We are just as lost as you are." Alexa said worriedly.

Toby took his seat in the middle chair, facing five raised platforms.  
The platform in the middle had a glow of red, like the dying embers of a fire. The two below that were glowing blue and silver-grey. The next two shone green and yellow. Then the Sage of Fire came off his seat and stepped into the light.

Toby could tell this was not the man from the painting on the tower ceiling even though the other four were clearly the other warriors he saw. He wondered who the fifth picture could have been.

"Welcome to Ornam, my young friends. Please, you all must have question. Feel free to ask."  
When nobody responded Toby decided to speak.

"So why exactly are we even here?" he asked somewhat rudely, his temper rising.  
"You are here because you were chosen by the portals. They chose you because you five have something the portals could not see in anyone else. They saw an unbreakable bond of friendship and a warrior spirit inside all of you. That is why you are the Saviors of Ornam. Our world is in danger from an evil entity named Orgoth."

"He is threatening to destroy our world. You have been chosen too stop him." The Sage continued  
"And why exactly does he want to destroy everything? What did we ever do to him?" snapped Alexa  
The Sage on the yellow platform arose. He was tall and thin looking. He showed resemblance to one of the warriors Toby saw in the painting. The one unleashing bolts of lighting.  
"I am the Sky Sage. I can answer that for you. Long ago there was a man named Kakana. He was a warrior of great skill and rank. He had proven his skill in battle many times and hoped to become a Guardian. He had no problem with the physical training, but to be a Guardian you must be loyal as well. His loyalty was always somewhat questionable and in the end it caused him to fail the Test of Faith. We had no choice but to reject him for the chance as Guardian." Sky Sage explained.  
"So what does he have to do with Orgoth?" asked Blake timidly.

"I am coming to that. Kakana's ambitions were very great. It was his dream to become a Guardian. He wanted it so badly he put others in danger for self gratification. When we rejected him, his life was shattered. He made sure that is he wasn't a Guardian than there would be no Guardians at all. He was very persuasive. He abandoned us and began to practice the Powers of Darkness. He replaced his name with Orgoth. For many years he was not seen. Eventually he persuaded the Scourge to help him. He promised them many things for their service to him. Now he has taken control of them and is slowly destroying our kingdom. He hired five mercenary warriors, warriors that held the powers we have. We don't know where they came from or how they became so strong but they have been suppressing our powers and turned the forces of nature against us. It is up to you five to destroy them and to defeat Orgoth. It would be impossible to destroy Orgoth by strength in our armies but to attack him with our best warriors secretly. You are those warriors obviously." the Sage finished.

"So do we have any say in this? I mean youâ€™re basically asking us to save a world and a people we have never even heard of. Are you guys crazy?" said Lance losing his temper.  
"Please you must understand! Millions of lives are at stake. You five are the only ones who can save us. You can't just abandon us. You must help us!" he pleaded.

"But it is not only the fate of our world but of yours as well. Back in the beginning of time our planets were one. A terrible earthquake split the in two but the spirit remains one. If one planet is lost than the other will be plunged into an era of chaos and darkness."  
"I don't get any of this. You guys are in trouble, you can do it can't you? You have the powers, you have the skills, and you have the armies. But no, just take five kids and tell them to go on a suicide mission. Why don't you kill us all now and spare us the pain? Huh! It's stupid! It doesn't make sense! IT'S NOT FAIR! YOU CAN'T JUST TAKE US AND TELL US OUR LIVES ARE OVER! IT'S NOT FAIR!" Toby yelled, breathing heavily.  
"Toby, please stop it!" Taya pleaded with him, grabbing his arm. Toby whipped around to face here and the look on his face scarred Taya.  
"Let go of me!" he wrenched his arm out of her grip. Her eyes began to fill with tears. This seemed to calm him. Toby tried to comfort her.

"Taya. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. Taya. Please don't cry. I'm so sorry."  
"You know Toby is right sir. He has a right to be angry. It really isn't fair." Blake added in quietly.  
"Maybe so but it is not our decision who is the Savior or not. Now you must begin your training. You must unleash the warrior inside yourselves. Then you will be ready to face your challenge. Please, if you will go with Ingham he will show you to your quarters. Tomorrow you will start your training."


	5. Revelations

The Sage resumed his seat and Ingham beckoned them all out of the chamber. Taya had stopped crying and was whipping tears from her face; Toby was whispering to her in a soothing voice, for a tough guy he always did have a way with words. Taya began to lean her head on Toby's shoulder, her shoulder-length hair falling around his neck.

They all got up and filled out of the room and down the stairs. Ingham closed the door behind them. The six continued out of the tower and a short way through the city. They soon came to a building with a sign over the door. It read "Lanuck Inn." They walked inside to the see the buildings inner proportions.

It was dimly light and smoky in the room. It was filled with wooden tables and stools. Many of the tables were occupied by people drinking and singin songs merrily. Ingham crossed the room and had a few words with a man at the bar who appeared to be the owner. Ingham beckoned to them again and led them up a staircase to their rooms. He showed each of them in turn into their own personal room. When it was finally just he and Toby Ingham stopped. He turned to face Toby.

"Well you put on quite a show today Toby. Make no mistake you have a warrior spirit in you. I must say Toby you are amazingly like your father."  
"My...my father? You knew him? But how could you...?" Toby let out a sigh of despair. "My father died a long time ago. You couldn't have known him. Besides we live on two different planets. How could you have met him?"  
"Because Toby, the picture you saw on the tower ceiling, the man on the hilltop was your father." Ingham said.  
"But...then that means he, he wasn't lost. He was here?" Toby asked, his face lighting up with excitement.  
"Yes Toby. Your father saved our planet."  
"Well is he...dead? Is he alive?" Toby inquired looking worried.  
"How old were you when he went missing?" Ingham asked  
"Seven. Why?"  
"Your father has been waiting for you for 9 years Toby."  
"You mean he's alive?" Toby asked excitedly.  
"Yes."  
"Oh my God! Where is he? Is he alright?"  
"He is fine. In the morning we will see him to begin your training. Now go get some sleep my young friend. You have a big day ahead of you."  
Toby began to close the door when he stopped and looked back at Ingham.  
"Ingham. Thanks."  
"Your welcome Toby."

Toby flopped down on his new bed. He was so exhausted but couldn't sleep from excitement. His father was alive! For nine years Toby had dreamt of this day and it was finally hear. Toby took off his clothes and climbed into bed. Hours past as he lay awake, thinking of nothing but his father.


End file.
